Addison c



(No Model.)

A. C. FLETCHER.

STAMP 0R LABEL.

No. 444,344. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

' d www armar.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADDISON C. FLETCHER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STAMP R LABEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,344, dated January 6, 1891.

Application filed October 10, 1890. Serial No. 367,693. (No model.)

prints or similar representations are adapted.

to be attached by any previously-applied adhesive material to a letter, box, bottle, or other package.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a stamp, label, or other similar article capable of being attached to any package, such as a letter-envelope, box, or other containing device, said stamp having such construction that it shall not only not have adhesion to adjacent stamps or sheets of stamps in any climate or under any conditions, but shall also be readily separated therefrom by the fingers with the least possible danger of sticking thereto, while at the same time an ample adhesive surface, properly gummed, shall be provided and used in the ordinary well-known manner.

It is my further purpose also to provide a postage or other stamp having such formation as to preclude the liability of the adhesion of sheets containing a greater or less number of such stamps, or of two or more stamps sticking'together when separated from such sheet, a novel method of gumming such stamps being a part of my invention, which is applicable also to other devices having an adhesive gum previously applied, such, for example, as druggists labels, and those used for variousother purposes.

The invention consists to these ends in the several novel features of construction and new combinations of parts hereinafter fully set forth, and then definitely pointed out in the claims following this specification.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my said invention, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a view of the rearward or gummed face of a stamp or other equivalent device, illustrating one form in which my invention is embodied. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 1 upon the line a; at. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a stamp or other equivalent device, showing a modified construction and a manner of applying the gum thereto. Fig. 5 is an end elevation showing a modification of the construction illustrated in Fig. 3.

In the said drawings, the reference-numeral l denotes a postage or other stamp, manufactured in the usual well-known manner, and having a coating upon its rear face of dextrine or other suitable adhesive material 2. If the invention is applied to postage-stamps, the lines of division between the individual stamps will be perforated, but when applied to other devices, such as druggists, and other labels, this feature may be employed or omitted, as desired. To this rearward gummed surface I apply a slightly moistened or dampened sheet of very light thin tissue-paper 3, which is pressed equally upon the adhesive face by suitable means. In this thin paper at suitable points I form a series of openings 4, which, as shown, are of circular form, but which I may construct of any other shape-- such, for example, as polygonal, rectangular, triangular, star-shaped, or of any form preferred--and of such size as may be required by the necessities of the case. As illustrated, moreover, these openings are shown as being arranged in a number of longitudinal series, the openings in one series alternating in position with those of the two adjacent series; but this arrangement may be varied in different ways without departing from my invention. In one respect, however, the arrangement is not capable of variationmviz., upon each of the four lines of division or separation of the stamp or label are arranged a series of said openings, through which the lines of separation or of perforation pass diametrically, in order that there may be a suitable number of points of adhesion along the four edges, as shown in Fig..l. The stamp or sheet of stamps or other devices being thus prepared, I emboss the same by any suitable mechanism to throw up parallel ribs 5, which preferably lie between the several longitudinal series of openings t in thetissue-sheet 13. 'lhcse ribs appear in extremely low relief upon the rearward or gummed face of thel stamp, and it will be seen that with this construction an intimate contact between the adhesive faces o the stamps or sheets ol' stamps is practically impossible, unless a very considerable pressure is brought to bear thereon. 'lhus a number of stamps or sheets of stamps maybe piled one upon the other or carried in a similar relative position in the pocket or in a portable stamp-receptacle without material liability to adhere in Aa solid mass during very damp weather or in high tem peratu res where the perspiration from the body is excessive, thus avoiding the disagreeable necessity of soaking` the sticky mass in wat-er until the gum is removed, after which each stamp must be gummed separately as it is used.

Instead of embossing the stamp with parallel ribs in the manner set forth, I inay form in each stamp simultaneously with the application of the dex-trine or other adhesive gum, a number of series of embossed figures G, having suitable arrangement and rising in very low relief from the outer or printed face of the stamp, as shown in Fig. 4. Within the intagliosiformed upon the rear face of the stamps the gum is applied at the time that the embossed figures are formed by any proper mechanisnnand in such manner that the surface thereof shall be substantially in or perhaps a little below the plane of the rearward face of the stamp between the embossed figures. In the latter form of construction there will be no material danger of adhesion between the adjacent sheets of stamps, but where `the adhesive surface is substantially in the plane of the surfaces not embossed, I may form longitudinal ribs 7,embossed to appear in low relief upon the rearward face .of the stamp, thereby preventing contact of the series of adhesive wafers in the intaglios with an adjacent sheet or with the stamp-reeepta cle or pocketbook. I may, however, use these ribs in either or both the forms of construction last set forth.

In `the construction shown in Figs. l and 3, I may, if preferred, emboss the ribs 5 in such manner that they appear in relief upon each side of the stamp alternately, as shown in Fig. 5. These ribs also may be formed transversely to the length of the stamp as well as longitudinally.

My invention, as already stated, maybe applied to anykind of material formed in sheets, either individually or in series, wherein an adhesive material is applied to the rearward face and ada )ted to be moistened at the moment it is applied or attached to any article, such as a letter, paper, bottle, or other package. rl`heinvention possesses, however, a further advantage, which is peculiar to postage and other stamps, which are canceled when used.

It has long been known that the removal of canceled stamps, the obliteration of the canceling-mark, and the sale oi' the stamps thus cleansed for further use, has been an industry in the larger cities of this countryproductive of a considerable revenue,of whiclrthegoverumentisdefrauded. Nowitwillreadilybeseen that an embossed stamp having the construetion described hereinbet'ore maybe readily applied to an envelope in the usual manner and without any special care, without breaking,r down the low relief of the embossed ribs or figures, the soft and yielding pressure of the iin gers not being suicient to deface this relief. IVhen the metallic canceling-stamp is applied, however, it will inevitably follow that by its stroke or blow the embossed edges will be more or less crushed and broken, and in the attempt to cleanse the stamp afterward by the use" '0f warm water and soap or other solvents of the canceling-ink, this fracture of the perfectly-formed outlines of the embossed figures will become more apparent, and it will be practically impossible to restore the stamp to a condition in which it can be used again without immediate detection.

It will be noted that one ad vantage o f my invention is found in the fact that the postal and other stamps manufactured in sheets for Goyernmcnt use, may, when .embossed in the manner show-n in Figs. 1 and 3, be tiled one sheet upon the other with the lines of embessing crossing each other, thus affording an additional safeguard against adhesion and enabling the sheets to be accumulated in this manner in large quantities, either before or after the dextrine or other gum is entirely dry, or during transport-ation from one point to another.

For the tissue backing of the stamps of various kinds, as well as for other equivalent devices, I may employ thin sheets of various tints or colors, whereby a highly ornamental effect can be produced without any sensible increase in the cost of manufacture.

l. A postage-stamp or other equivalent device having applied toits adhesive face a thin sheet of tissue having formed therein a number of openings through which the adhesive surface is exposed, substantially as described.

2. A postage-stamp or equivalent deyiee having applied to its rearward or adhesive face asheet of thin tissue having openings at suitable intervals through which the adhesive surface is exposed, said stamp thus prepared being embossed with ribs appearing in l,low relief upon the face alternately, substantially as described.

3. A postage-stamp or other equivalent device having a number of embossed figures appearing in Ylow relief upon its outer or printed face and having the intaglios of said figures lled with a suitable adhesive gum, substantially in the same plane as to their surfaces with the unembossed rearward face of said stamp, the latter being also provided with ribs embossed in low relief upon the IOO IIO

rearward face of the stamp and between said adhesive surfaces, substantially as described.

4. A series of postage stamps or other equivalent devices having their rearward or adhesive faces covered by a sheet of thin tissue adhering thereto and provided with successive series of openings ot' any suitable form and size, whereby the adhesive material is exposed, arranged in such manner that 1o the lines of separation or perforation between said stamps shall diametricaliy intercept four separate series of said openings to give adhesion to the edges, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have attixed my sigx 5 nature in presence of two witnesses.

ADDISON C. FLETCHER. Witnesses:

JAMES L. NoRRIs, JAMES A. RUTHERFORD. 

